Keep the Dream Alive.
Black arts. Shared history. A future shaped together.
Founded by African American educators in 1976, World Arts Foundation, Inc. celebrates Black culture through arts, education, and community gatherings. Rooted in Portland’s Albina district, we preserve the stories of generations past and make room for the next.
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Arts, education, and community.
Since 1976, WAFI has connected Black cultural expression with learning, public celebration, and the preservation of Albina’s history.
Keep Alive the Dream
Four decades of honoring Dr. King · Through 2025
Developed under Kenneth W. Berry’s direction and sustained by volunteers, this annual tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brings artists, educators, civic leaders, and young people together through music, storytelling, and recognition of community service.
The January 19, 2026 program at Life Change Church, A Legacy in Motion: Moving the Dream Forward, was designed as a free, all-ages celebration of youth leadership and multigenerational voices. The program included drumming, spoken word, music, cultural showcases, and vendors. WAFI’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award honorees included Cheryl L. Chandler-Roberts, Renée Watson, and Leslie Goodlow.
Learning through the arts
Founded in 1983, WAFI’s Cultural Recreation Band brought together middle and high school musicians from Portland Public Schools under Thara Memory, Greg McKelvey, and Ronnye Harrison. Memory later established the American Music Program in 2005; its youth jazz legacy includes Esperanza Spalding, Charlie Brown III, and Domo Branch.
Urban Wings and Aerospace Leadership Club connects aviation, hands-on STEM learning, and character development for Portland middle and high school students, with a special focus on the Tuskegee Airmen.
Performance and community dialogue
In partnership with the Multnomah County Health Department’s REACH program, WAFI has presented substance abuse prevention skits across the Portland metropolitan area. These performances create space for young people and community members to discuss substance use risks, mentorship, and support.
The program for the February 22, 2025 Black History Month gathering at the University of Oregon’s Portland campus brought together a free community celebration, a volunteer luncheon, a vendor village, music, and student product-design showcases.
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Our history. Since 1976.
50 years of arts, education, and community · 1976–2026. WAFI’s history connects classroom learning, public performance, and the preservation of Black Oregon’s stories.
1976 · Founded by educators
African American teachers formed One World Arts Foundation to deepen understanding of Black history and create opportunities for artistic expression. Co-founder Michael “Chappie” Grice brought a lifelong commitment to public education and community participation.
1977–1978 · History on stage, scholarships for students
DuBois, An Oral History Program drew on W.E.B. DuBois’s work in 1977. The next year, From the Pulpit, From the People brought Dr. King’s words to the stage, raised scholarship funds for African American students attending Catlin Gabel School, and reached audiences through KGW-TV.
1970s–1980s · A 24-piece jazz orchestra
With WAFI’s assistance, the Creative Jazz Orchestra, directed by Thara Memory, performed thematic concerts across the Pacific Northwest. Its repertoire reimagined 20th-century jazz through soul music and international influences.
1983–1985 · Youth music and railroad oral histories
WAFI founded the Cultural Recreation Band in 1983. In 1985, it produced Black Families and the Railroad in Oregon, directed by Michael “Chappie” Grice and funded by Oregon Humanities, preserving the experiences of African American railroad porters.
1992 & 2015 · Two neighborhood surveys, 23 years apart
WAFI and local high school students documented Alberta Street’s residents, businesses, and neighborhood conditions. Supported by Portland Public Schools, Prosper Portland, and Black United Fund of Oregon, the cultural resource inventory examined displacement, gentrification, poverty, and employment and offered recommendations for the neighborhood.
2009–2013 · Partnerships in cultural memory
WAFI and McMenamins supported Ron Craig’s Portland African-American Film Festival, featuring cinema from the 1920s through the 1980s. With Meyer Memorial Trust, WAFI funded research for Raymond Burrell III’s 2009 book on Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church. It also supported Sherman: A Jazz Opera with the Regional Arts & Culture Council and served on the advisory committee for Central City Concern’s permanent Golden West Hotel exhibit.
2011 · A founding partner in Race Talks
WAFI joined Donna Maxey’s community forum at its founding, supporting conversations that build cross-cultural connections.
2024 · Hundreds of archival items shared
Co-founder Ken Berry contributed hundreds of items from his personal collection to the Albina Community Archive, launched by Albina Music Trust, opening generations of Black Portland’s creative life to new audiences.
“…being able to take 50 years of collection of information and begin to start passing it on.”
— Ken Berry, WAFI co-founder. Hear his story on OPB →
2026 · Marking five decades
WAFI’s 50th-anniversary listing announced a free, all-ages Documentary Showcase at Hollywood Theatre on September 12, 2026, bringing documentary film, music, community voices, and memorabilia together around five decades of service.
WAFI by the numbers.
50 years · 1976–2026
Connecting Black arts, education, and community across generations.
40 consecutive years · Through 2025
Celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the annual Keep Alive the Dream tribute.
24 musicians
In the Creative Jazz Orchestra, part of WAFI’s musical legacy.
2 neighborhood surveys · 23 years apart
The Alberta Street Project documented neighborhood perspectives in 1992 and 2015.
Meet our board and team →
Explore nonprofit information and public financial records →
The Emeralds and Imperials youth groups, Albina, 1968. Portland City Archives, AP/67369.
Guitar portrait. Photograph by Joecalih.
Albina Music Trust.
Cultural Recreation Band and American Music Program.
Community stage performance honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
DuBois, An Oral History Program. Image from WAFI’s website archive.
Black Men in Training gathering. Photograph from WAFI’s website archive.
Urban Wings and Aerospace Leadership Club. Photograph from WAFI’s website archive.